What the Blind Man Sees
by Mitsuki10191
Summary: This is a fanfic about Iggy and the girl he takes -haha- under his wing, teaching a new bird girl how to be one of the flock.
1. Chapter 1

The first time she who had no name took the blind boy's hand, it was through the bars of a cage, he on the outside, she within the cool metal bars. He'd smiled at her, as none of the doctors or scientists ever smile, a quirky grin that had her blinking, staring blankly. His eyes had been glassy, and she had known instinctively that, though he couldn't see her, his attention was still focused on her completely.

"You'll be ok now," He'd whispered, and then he'd turned to look over his shoulder, shouting in a way that had her shying back a bit.

"Max! Yo, Max, get over here! I found somebody!" He'd turned his attention back to her then, slipping a hand through the bars as though he could see them. Though she would never know why, she cautiously reached out, placing her hand in his. He smiled again, nodding a bit, and his fingers wrapped around hers, hard and warm and real.

There'd been a new face then, a female face, one full of impatience and violence. These emotions she understood, much more than the strange smile on the blind boy's face. But just because she understood them didn't mean she trusted them. Her pulse spiked at the glare in the girl's eyes, and automatically her wings spread, wrapping around her to shield her.

She watched the girl-Max-freeze at this, and those hard eyes went wide with what she who had no name thought might be shock. "She's like us…Iggy, she's like us. She has wings. Open the cage." She almost asked how a blind man was to open a locked cage, but held her tongue, retreating deep into the shadows of the cage.

Who were these people, these strange people who had come to her prison? She feared, and feared deeply, that at any moment the guards, the doctors and scientists would come racing in and stop them from opening the cage. So very, very afraid that they would punish her for this, for this rebellion she had no true part in.

She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the moment one of the guards' cruel, hard faces came into view, sneering at her, pressing the button that would have the collar around her neck shooting electricity through her body. But instead of that, she heard a faint creaking sound, and footsteps approaching closer than she'd ever heard them.

"Hey now, it's all right. We won't hurt you." It was the blind boy's voice, and she jolted a bit when she felt his hand on her shoulder. But it wasn't a hurtful touch. No, it was…she didn't have a word for it, for it was something she had never felt before in the fifteen years and three months that she had been alive.

"Grab her and let's go!" The girl's rough voice shouted from somewhere else in the room, and she winced, ducking her head a bit at the harsh tone.

"Don't mind Max. She's always yelling about something. Come on now, come with me. I'm not going to hurt you." Once again he held out a hand, and once again she took it, reveling in the feel of warm, strong fingers around her own cool flesh.

"Come on, man, get a move on!" This was from a young boy who ran by, his wings outstretched, and Iggy-for that's what she believed the girl had called him before-smiled again, squeezing her hand.

"Let's blow this joint, huh?" Without giving her a chance to reply-not that she'd planned to disagree with him, he pulled her out of the cage, and she stared in shock at the fallen guards who lay unconscious around the room, and the shattered glass in one of the windows.

When she saw the others-and besides Iggy and Max there were three more young people-leaping out the window, spreading their wings and taking flight, her steps faltered, uncertainty flashing through her eyes. As though understanding, Iggy squeezed her hand again.

"Don't worry. I won't let you fall. Just fly." Swallowing hard, she nodded, and he helped her up onto the window sill. He climbed up beside her, his hand still linked with hers.

"On the count of three," He said, but when they heard a door slam open he laughed, pushed off the window.

"Three!" He shouted, and she had a moment of fear as she felt herself free falling through the air off the top of a ten story building. But then her wings caught the air, and she soared up, with him right below her, flying upside down, his hand still holding hers.

He laughed triumphantly, his blind eyes gleaming bright. "You did it! Good job. Let's keep up now. Max is on a roll." He fell silent then, letting go of her hand and shifting to fly beside her. They picked up speed, and she savored the feeling of wind beneath her wings. So different from the small enclosures where she'd been allowed to fly before, such an improvement from the huge wind tunnels they'd made her fly in to test her speed and stamina.

From time to time Iggy glanced over at her, a slight grin on his face. Had he been able to see her, he would have seen a small, delicately built creature who would've looked fragile but for the rolling muscles in her arms and back, but for the huge wings on her back. She had a heart shaped face dominated by big moss green eyes, and auburn hair that gleamed red in the sun. But just now, in the near-dark of twilight, it was her eyes that gleamed, beacons in the night as she stared at everything around her.

She didn't know how long they were in the air. Only that, when they finally landed, at the base of a mountain where several caves dotted the landscape, her whole body ached and her eyes drooped. And when her feet hit the ground, she might have tripped but for Iggy's steadying hand on her shoulder.

He smiled down at her in the moonlight, wrapping a friendly arm around her. "So tell me, what's your name?"

And she stared up at him for a long moment, before, in a soft voice that wasn't used to being used at all, she whispered, "I don't know."


	2. Chapter 2

Iggy took pause first at the voice that came out of the girl he'd sensed rather than seen in that government building they'd stumbled upon. It was so different from any of the female voices he was familiar was. It wasn't rough and tough like Max's, loud and bubbly like Nudge's, or even as deceptively innocent as Angel's. It was, quite simply, soft and lovely, a bit hesitant, maybe a little shy. It drew him in, the tone of it, the sound. It was like music, soft and lilting and he found himself tilting his head down to hear it better.

But then the words registered, and he nodded in sympathy. Hadn't they all been forced to name themselves, as well, never given a true name within the labs? "Well then, we'll have to fix that, won't we? I'll think of a great name for you, you'll see." He patted her shoulder, and she kept her eyes on him, well aware that the others in the room were watching her.

"Well, whoever you are, you're welcome here. We didn't think there was anyone else like us out there." This was from the one called Max, whose tone was indeed 'rough and tough', and despite the words, she who had no name automatically backed up a step in defense. And she very nearly flinched when Max let out a snort of what was almost certainly disgust. Unused to this interaction with others, she made an effort, taking half a step forward again, her gaze somewhere above Max's left shoulder.

"…Thank you." It was said softly, barely above a whisper, but Max accepted it with a nod before she shifted her attention to Iggy.

"We'll talk more in the morning. For now, she's your responsibility. Get some shut-eye. Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, with me. Iggy and…she can take the second cave." Without a backward glance, Max herded the younger children into a large cave, leaving the girl and Iggy out in the dark, where a light wind had come up, causing her to shiver. It had been so long since she'd been outside.

With Iggy's arm still around her, he felt her shiver and instinctively tightened his grip, feeling a stir of sympathy when she jolted, her whole body going rigid. He couldn't see her, but at the same time, he could, as weird as that sounded. From the first moment, he'd seen her, a spot of color in the dark, a soft, pulsing light. He'd seen colors, before of course, but not like this. Not quite like this. And that made her all the more special, besides the fact that she was another bird kid, another survivor.

"Let's get you inside. You must be tired." He kept his tone light and gentle, something he rarely thought to do. Many would've been surprised to know that the boy who spent his life blowing things up and wreaking havoc had a gentle side that showed itself at certain times. This appeared to be one of those times. He led the girl inside the cave, relying on instinct and years of walking around without sight to navigate inside the cave.

"What if…" The girl's hesitant voice had him stopping, tilting his head down towards her.

"What if…" He spoke it as a question, sensed her hesitation before she spoke again, her voice still whisper-soft.

"What if they find us? What if they…I don't want to go back in the cage." He was silent for a moment, absorbing the quiet desperation in her voice. But then he nodded, his hand running up her cool arm.

"Don't worry. They won't find us. And if they do, we'll kick their butts. No one's going back in a cage…Oh yeah; we definitely need a name for you." With a sigh he held out a hand, felt along the wall. When he deemed them far enough into the cave, he slid down the wall, easing her down with him so they were sitting on the cool stone floor, shielded from the wind.

"How about…Ashley? No, no, not Ashley." He answered his own question, pursing his lips in thought, still absently running his hand up and down her arm, an absent gesture of comfort. "Heather…Ellen…Definitely not a Tiffany. You're not a Danielle or a Rachel. You're…" He paused as a name whispered in his head, settled into his brain and had his smile flashing in the dark.

"You're Sophia. Your name is Sophia." He said it with such certainty, as such an absolute truth, that she never thought to disagree. She simply nodded, running the name over and over again in her mind.

"Sophia…It is pretty. Thank you." She said carefully, and when he grinned, squeezed her shoulders in a little one-armed hug, she felt her young heart skip a beat as it turned over, ever so slowly, in her chest.


End file.
